Resist The Thirst
by iKaylaRose
Summary: Raven is a vampire. A vampire who lives with Markiplier, and they live a pretty normal live for a YouTuber. That is until one day Jacksepticeye moves in with them and Raven quickly learns there's something special about him that makes her thirst for blood go wild. Can Raven resist the thirst?
1. Chapter 1: Hanging with Mark

Hey everyone, this is my first fanfiction I've ever posted, so I'm super excited. If you have suggestions or criticisms, don't be afraid to let me know. Thank you for clicking on this!Chapter One: Hanging with Mark

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!"

I startled out of my sleep, shocked from the loud outburst that came from a room adjacent to my own.

"We finally did it! The turmoil, the pain, the misery has all lead up to this moment where I finally can say I, Markiplier the great, has defeated this wretched game once and for all!"

I quickly realized the outburst that awoke me was just Mark playing a game. At least I won't have to deal with him having mental breakdowns about it anymore. We even had to buy him a new chair after he threw the other one in a fit of rage.

I sighed and rolled off the bed chuckling to myself, and checked the clock on my bedside table. 3:30, time to get up and get ready for that collab Mark wanted to do.

Within a few minutes I was properly clothed and ready to get in front of the camera.

"I hear you've reigned victorious?" I asked as I stepped into his room.

"Yes! I can finally be done with that stupid game! Wait? How did you know?" He ended with confusion.

"The same way as the entire neighbourhood knows, you woke me up from my beauty sleep."

He look genuinely sorry as he said,

"Oops, sorry. I'll never get used to your weird sleeping schedule."

"Oh come on, it's not that hard to figure out. or do you really have a mental age of seven?"I joked

"Rude," he feigned anger, then turned more serious. "Twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, one day I'll get it."

"Well you haven't gotten it in the year we've been living together, so I'm starting to lose faith."

"I know… Sorry"

"Hey, it's fine." I tried to cheer him up, "I needed to get up anyways and get ready for the video. What are we doing anyways?"

"I figured maybe a Q and A together could be a nice change of pace, and the subs have been requesting one for a bit."

A short bit later, we were sitting with a camera staring into our faces and a red blinking light indicating we were recording.

"Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier and today we will be doing a Q and A with the one, the only, River!" Mark did his normal intro with an upbeat tone and animated gestures. "Say hi!"

"Hey!"

"So this morning I asked you all on Twitter to send some questions for us, but there's the twist, we can pass a question if we eat two bean boozled jelly beans." He waved the box of disgusting candy across his face before continuing. "So now that we know the rules, let's get started!"

He pulled out his phone and read the first question. "Okay, we're starting easy. What is one thing you like about eachother?"

"That is far from easy!" I stated sarcastically.

Mark quipped back by saying "Yeah, what is this? A couples question?"

I sighed "If I have to pick something, I guess it would be how he always finds a way to make me laugh, no matter how sad I am." I giggled, "I can already see the hoard of shippers."

There was a moments of silence before...

"It's your turn now!" I said with fake annoyance."

"Fine, I guess... I just love how much you love me," he ended with a grin.

"Are you serious!? Somebody kill me now, his ego is growing."

He laughed, "being serious though, I love how you always motivate me to do the things I want to do." His brown eyes staring at me with appreciation.

"Aw! Thanks!"

He returned to his phone, "How did you two meet? Well that's easy, we went to college together. She came on my second year and we met during a class when we were assigned to be each others partners, and I guess she saw something in me that just made her want to stay." He ended smiling with another egotistical joke.

"Yeah, it was his xbox, I didn't have money at the time to buy one, so I pretended to be his friend to play it." I defended myself.

"Wow, this entire time, our friendship has been built on lies. I can't believe you would do such a thing!"

He gave me a playful push and turned back to his phone. "Do you believe in mythical creatures, werewolves, vampires, that kind of stuff?"

I paused, wondering if I should lie and say no to keep suspicions off, say yes and hope nobody thinks much of it, or take a bean.

"Well, I'm thinking this container doesn't even have the plastic off yet, so I'm gonna take some of those." I picked up the box and started breaking the seal.

"You know just because I'm such a good friend, I'll do it with you." We both picked up a barf or peach and a rotten egg or buttered popcorn.

"Cheers!" We touched together our peach or barf and tossed them into our months. I had done the bean boozled challenge plenty of times, but the fear and anticipation that comes right before biting never lessens. I sunk my teeth into the candy, clenched my eyes shut, and silently praying for peach and an explosion of sweetness entered my mouth.

"Yes! Victory is sweet!" I turned to look at Mark who was currently joining in the same victory celebration I was. We raised a hand and slapped them together for a high five.

"We've survived the first round, but will we the next?" Mark said ominously.

"The thing I hate about this one is it's a lose, lose."

"And the worse lose is the most disgusting one of the set!" Mark added as the stared at the jelly bean in his hand.

"Um.. I might have to disagree, rotten fish is the worst, but we might as well get this over with… 3… 2… 1… EAT!" Again, we tossed the candy into our mouths and bit down. The taste of pure disgustingness permitted through my mouth as I gagged on the taste, trying to get it down.

I quickly grabbed the water on the table and tried swallowing it pill style, it did finally go down, but not before a few attempts. After I had a few breaths to try and calm down, I looked at Mark whose face was twisted in disgust.

"Rotten Egg?"

"Na, buttered popcorn, but boy is it bad."

"Yes, I'm sure it's ten times worse than having an egg that's been sitting out for 5 days!"

I gulped down some more water to try and get that fowl taste out of my mouth as Mark grabbed his phone for the next question.

Later that evening we had some quality time together playing board games mostly Codenames, my favourite game. If you've never played it before, basically there's a whole bunch of random words on the table and one person has to try and find a word that connects multiple words, for example water could be a clue for ocean and sink. The other person on the team tries to guess what words the clue belongs to.

"This is perfect," Mark chuckled slightly and grinned mischievously at me. "Vampire, three"

The number in each clue tells the guesser how many words apply to the clue.

I rolled my eyes at him and scanned the cards, looking for solutions. Blood was an obvious one so I guessed it right away, getting it right. There was also mirror in the top right.

I looked back up "Mirror?" I guessed touching the card. He smiled and placed a marker meaning I got it right.

"Ugh, it's so stupid, why did people come up with a stupid rumor that vampires reflections don't work, it's totally wrong and doesn't make any sense!"

"Who knows, humans are weird. But at least if somebody believed that, then less suspicion would be put on you since your reflection is perfectly intact.

"That's true," My eyes retired to the cards looking for my final word. Both teeth and mythical were on the board and either could work. I scanned his eyes looking for some kind of clue as to which one he was thinking of.

"Theeeeeth?" I stretched out the word, second guessing myself.

"Yes!" Mark high fives me and then returned to scanning the cards, his brain working to connect more words.

Yay! That's the end. I know it hasn't gotten into any good parts yet, but I wanted to establish chapters, things get a little more exciting in the next chapter though.


	2. Chapter 2: The Hunt

Hey, so there's finally a chapter two... I'm bad. I'm really sorry it took me this long to do stuff. School and work is keeping me really busy and the only time I write is after 9, in bed, on my phone.

Yikes. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2: The Hunt

Mark had already gone to bed hours ago after multiple games of Codenames, Catan and one friendship threatening round of Uno.

I sat up, unsure of what to do since I just finished 100%-ing Super Mario Odyssey. After some internal deliberation, I decided on a walk. We lived outside of downtown with a park close by so I walked there in around 10 minutes.

There was a playground I liked to go and watch kids play at when I first moved here 3 years ago. I sat on one of the many empty swings and because of some childhood urge, I started swinging. Not much at first, but soon I was 90 degrees to the top bar and giggling like a little girl. I finally stopped when I noticed a man walking down the street across from me. At first I figured he would be weirded out when he saw a full grown woman playing on a swing set, but I soon realized he didn't even notice me since he was focusing on not falling over in his drunken state.

I considered just letting him be, but it wasn't often an opportunity came up like this, and I did need to feed soon, so I walked over to him.

"Hey! Do you need some help?"

He looked up confused, distracting him and nearly causing him to fall over, but I quickly caught his arm and draped it over my shoulder.

"No, I'm - I'm juuuust fine," he tried reassuring me, even with his words slurring and leaning heavily on me. "Wouldn't want to trouble at pretty girl like you."

"Oh don't worry about it," I lead him into an ally to make sure nobody would see us. "How about we have a little fun? We'll blindfold you and then I'll lead you around town and we can see where we end up. Okay?"

"I don't know, I have to go to work tomorrow." He looked concerned about his job even through his drunkenness.

"Oh don't worry about that, it will only take a couple minutes!"

He seemed to consider it before letting me do my thing. I took off my headband and put it over his eyes and guided him around a few more alleys.

"Where's our final destination?" He asked loudly after a couple minutes.

"I think this looks good." Around us was a back alley with a few dumpsters, a pile of garbage bags, but most important, it was away from the eyes of others.

"Okay….. Are you gonna take the blindfold off?"

"No, I think I'll leave it on for this." I pushed his body against a wall and brought my mouth near his neck.

"Wait, what are you do…" his trembling voice was cut off, but the fear in his face was still evident as he coward into the brick behind him.

"Shhh, I need you to be quiet now, okay?" I whispered into his ear as I pushed my hand against his mouth to muffle any sounds being made in the events ahead.

I didn't want his suffering to last, so in a swift motion I released my fangs and sunk them into his shoulder, a place that wouldn't cause lasting damage like the neck. His blood started flowing quickly, and I took whatever I could get. It wasn't amazing, but then again I wasn't to thirsty, and he did have some alcohol in him.

I didn't take to much before I backed away, he was still conscience and tried to get away from me as quickly as possible, but I grabbed him by the throat and waited until he passed out and carried him back to where I originally found him.

This was a normal process for me, and it always ended a similar way. My victim would wake up shortly after and stumble back to their house believing it was all just the imagination of the alcohol.

I on the other hand, ran home and waited the rest of the night out by reading a book and working more on learning to write with my left hand, a random skill I've wanted to acquire for a few years. Before I knew it, the sun was coming up.

Thanks so much for reading, I know its kinda short but I thought it was the best spot to end the chapter. Hopefully another one will be up before 4 months pass.


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting Jack

**Chapter 3: Meeting Jack**

I could hear Mark stirring in his bed around 7 in the morning, surprising me because of how late it was when he went to bed last night. Not 10 minutes later, he winced as he stepped into the bright room, still in his PJs with his hair disheveled and laying across his head in an unorganized mess.

"Floof the hair for power," I joked at one of his references as I pointed at his head.

"I know, I know, just let me get my coffee."

I giggled at this "half asleep walk" across the kitchen and grabbed out the coffee pot for him, putting it on, I turned to him.

"You're up early."

"I know, it sucks, but I couldn't get back to sleep."

"Oof, that's rough."

He just nodded and turned back to get his coffee. "Oh, I forgot to ask you, Jack was wondering if he could stay with us for a bit, he's looking to buy a house here."

My face lit up at the idea, I had heard a lot about him through Mark, and he seemed like a really great and funny guy to hang with. We had said hi, but I've never really had a chance to meet him.

"I would LOVE that!"

He smiled, and seemed glad he could hang out with his friend, but couldn't help to make a joke.

"You're enthusiasm is too much to deal with this early."

"Hey! Being joyful is a good thing you know." I playfully pushed him into the counter, and he just smiled goofily back at me.

"Jack said he would be up on Tuesday so we should get the extra room ready for him." He stated in between sips of the steaming coffee.

"I can do that today!" He nodded back at me and walked into his room, probably to finish getting ready for the day.

Life continued on as normal for the next couple days until it was only a few hours until Jack finally arrived.

I was basically bouncing out of my seat I was so excited.

"Should we go to the airport yet?"

"His flight doesn't land for another 2 ½ hours, we'd be waiting there forever." Mark answered unimpressed with my lack of patience. "By the way you've been so excited, you would think you like him more than me." He added with a fake pout.

"Oh please," I punched him in the shoulder, " I don't even know the guy, it's just that I never hang out with anyone else. I'm excited to finally meet someone new!"

He just sighed, "well you have another 2 hours to go, I'm sure you can entertain yourself for that long."

So I did, by playing Overwatch. I'm not the best at it, but I enjoy playing it nonetheless. I won a few of my matches, and even got play of the game once, but I couldn't stop looking at the time.

Finally, we left for the airport.

On the way we rocked out to some of my favourite tunes to make the drive less excruciately long. We made it with ten minutes to spare, so we sat on a bench and entertained ourselves by trying to beat my top record on white tiles 4. It was a good distraction from the business of the airport.

I've always had extra problems with crowded places, hearing all the heartbeats, and smelling all of the sents was a little overwhelming, so I didn't leave the house to much, and tried to avoid places with tons of people. But for Jack, I made an exception.

Speaking of him, it wasn't to long before I saw a green tuft of hair in the crowd.

"Oh, there he is!" I tapped Mark on the shoulder excitedly.

Once he got close enough to us, Mark poked him in his side, startling him. He jumped slightly and whipped his head around to see is.

"Mark! Don't scare me like that!"

"I couldn't resist" he had a teasing tone in his voice. "It's been to long," he added as he pulled him into a hug.

"I know, can't wait to finally be able to hang out with everybody more often!" He seemed extremely happy and excited to be here.

"Oh and uh, this is River. You two have met before, right?"

"Breifally, I think she's popped in while we were skyping before."

I chimed in, "It's nice to meet you, I'm really excited to hang out." I said, but quickly added, "If you want to of course, I understand if you just want to be with Mark."

"Of course not! I'm excited to meet new people too! And it's nice to officially meet you."

I expected him to stick out his hand for a formal handshake, but instead he opened his arms for a hug. I figured that's just the kind of person he is, not that I minded, I'm a touchy feely person as well.

One thing that shocked me as I got closer to him was his sent. As a vampire, some people's blood will be more appetizing to me, and that quality shows in their sent, but this was much more extreme than any encounter I've ever had.

His blood smelled sweet, but not enough to be gross, it was the perfect balance and I felt my body wanting to lean closer to his neck for more.

This epiphany shocked me, and I quickly let go of him and took a few steps back. I had smelled good blood before, but I had never acted or even come close to acting on the urge. His blood was special in some way, or it was just really good.

Jack seemed to notice the confused and shocked expression on my face, "Are you okay?"

"Um... yeah, I'm fine. Can't wait to hang out!"

Joining into our conversation, Mark chimed in, "The car is parked over that way."

So we walked back, mostly Jack and Mark talking, but they both made an effort to include me as much as possible.

Once we got home, Jack settled in and took a power nap as me and Mark made dinner.

"So what was that?" Mark asked me as I was grabbing the potatoes out.

"What was what?"

"The thing… after you hugged."

I took a second to figure out how to respond as I peeled the potatoes, "I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, all I know is that his blood smelled really nice, like really!"

Mark just looked at me confused.

"Ugh, I don't understand it either, I've never experienced anything like that before! But I don't know, it's probably nothing… Just forget about it.

"Are you going to be okay?" Mark not only seemed concerned for me, but also the safety of his friend.

"Pfft, I'm not going to eat Jack, Mark. It's not even that noticeable unless I get up close and personal."

"Okay…" He seemed more comfortable after that, and the rest of the dinner making process went off without a hitch.

Half an hour later, I heard some light footsteps before Jack appeared in the kitchen.

"Something smells good!"

"Thanks, I'm just happy we have an excuse to actually use some of the food we have instead of eating out." Mark responded

Jack smiled and we dished up our food, corn, chicken, and my favorite part, mashed potatoes. Yes, I can still eat even though I'm a vampire, it just doesn't sustain me.

"So Jack, what do you want to do first."

"Ugh, I don't know. There's so much! I want to see the sights and everything, but maybe we could just chill for tonight and get to that tomorrow?"

"Sounds fun! What kind of chillin', board game, card game?" I jumped in.

In the end, we ended up recording a good old fashioned round of Mario kart, I won using some shortcuts I've learned during the nights without sleep. Jack was basically jumping out of his seat trying to catch Mark, leaning to the side along with his character, and screaming his head off whenever something bad happened, or good happened, basically just the entire time.

Overall, it was just an awesome night of getting to hang out with cool people. I was basically glowing, and Mark noticed.

"You seemed to have fun." Mark spoke quietly after Jack went to bed.

"Oh my gosh! He's so awesome, and funny, and….. Loud. I love him!"

"Woah, calm your emotions. Seems like you haven't hung out with a guy in a long time."

Shut up!" I said a bit too loudly, "Not like that. He's just fun to hang around. A girl can enjoy hanging out with a guy without it being romantic. Our relationship is a perfect example."

"I know, I know." Mark said defensively "Just teasing you."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he retorted by returning the insult, mimicking my face.

"Rude…" I muttered as I walked over to my room.

Faking sleeping while Jack was here was going to be annoying, confined to my room with the light off, but it was worth it to have another friend around. For the most part, I sat in silence contemplating how I could get closer to my new friend,

and why the heck his scent was so dang appealing.

I was in the kitchen at around 4:30, on my phone, when I heard some sounds from upstairs.

 _It can't be Mark, he sleeps like a log and never gets up this early._

I debated sneaking back into my room to try and faint sleeping, but decided against it. I probably wouldn't make it without passing him anyways.

My thoughts were interrupted by Jack walking into the kitchen, a loose T-shirt that had the Overwatch logo on it hanging off his shoulders, and black jogging pants covering his pale skin.

He startled slightly at my presence, "Oh, why are you up?" He asked me as he rubbed his eyes.

"I could say the same thing to you, and I couldn't sleep, thought I would just come down here instead."

"Ah, jet lag sucks. I felt like I've never been more awake in my life and it's 4 am!"

"Ah fun," I replied sarcastically. "So, is there anything you want to do?"

"Well, I thought I was just going to have to chill on my phone for hours, but beating you up in Smash Brothers seems way better than that!

"Try me!"

…. I lost miserably

"How are you this good?"

"I got the skills!"

"OH YES, YES… WAIT, NO NOT LIKE THIS!"

My character got blasted off the screen, as the announcer proclaimed "Game!"

"Ugh, I was so close!"

"If you consider, only killing me once out of five lives close," He smirked at me.

"Hey!" I just punched him in the shoulder because I had no defence.

"Chill out! I'm just getting revenge from Mario Kart. How you can do all those short cuts, I will never know."

My attention was quickly shifted as I heard the shuffling of feet walking down stairs.

"Oh, he's up already." I glanced at the clock to see it was still only 7 am.

Mark walked into the room, still looking half asleep with his oversized shirt hanging off of one shoulder, and the heel of his hand pressed against his left eye.

His voice was lower and gravely from a lack of use as he asked "I thought I was up early, how long have you been down here?" He directed his question at Jack, already knowing I wouldn't have gone to bed in the first place.

"Eh, I was awake at 4, I've just been beating River up in smash bros since." He answered and fake punched me at the end.

"Yeah, I heard…"

"Oh shoot, were we being to loud?" I jumped in as I realized just how rambunctious the two of us are together.

"It's fine, I needed to get up anyway." He shifted his weight to the other leg and leaned against the couch as he asked, "So Jack, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Oh, I don't know… anything with bacon sounds good."

So we ended up with pancakes, bacon, and fried eggs for a delicious and filling first meal of the day. Well, filling for the guys, I was actually pretty hungry. I made a mental note for myself to go out either tonight or tomorrow for some food.

"What's on the agenda today?" Jack asked as he bent down to set his sticky plate in the dishwasher.

"Whatever you want! You had said you wanted to see the sites today right?"

"Yeah! It's been a long time since I was in California last. I say we drive and see where the day takes us!"

Jack excitement was palpable as we climbed into Mark's car. There was music playing in the background as we drove around, looking for anywhere to stop. Jack gaped at some of the sights I see daily, and was constantly astounded by the amount of people condensed into a small area.

Eventually we got out at a gaming and nerdy store just outside the city limits.

"Now this is my kinda shopping!" I proclaimed as we rushed through the doors. My senses were bombarded by bright colours, multiple TV screens displaying the newest games, electronic music playing, and the chatter of multiple conversations around the store.

There was so much stuff, I didn't know where to start. So, I followed behind Mark as he zoomed over the the "new releases" section of games.

"What'cha looking for?"

"I don't know, anything that catches my attention I guess." He answered noncallalontally as he flipped over the case in his hand.

I noted Jack squeezing his way over to the stairs, heading to the next story which was full of board games and comics.

Suddenly Mark turned to me, his face bunched up in some form of concern. "How's it going with the whole…. thing?"

"You mean his blood? It's fine, I barely even noticed anything. You should stop worrying. I would _never_ hurt him."

"Okay… nothing happened this morning, right?

"Really Mark? Do you not trust me that much? I can handle myself. I understand why you're concerned, but there really is no need to be"

The rest of the day went off without a hitch, seeing some of the typical and not as typical tourist attractions around LA and having a great time while doing it. Over dinner at Mark's favourite restaurant, we all went around telling embarrassing stories. I got to re-listen to Mark getting kicked out of his girlfriends house, and learned that Jack didn't stop sucking his thumb until he was nearly 11. Of course, Mark forced me into the story of mistaking a celebrity for some random dude. Overall, it was a day of bonding and adventure.

We crashed back at our house at 9:00 with a newly bought movie we all thought looked good from the first stop of the day. Apperentally, Mark had already seen it, but he didn't mind rewatching it since Jack and I seemed excited. We wanted Mark to enjoy the rest of the night too, so we came up with the idea of a movie marathon. We managed to cram the three of us plus some blankets into a couch only fit for two. Jack was already in his PJ's. Beside him, I was snuggled up in a blanket, and Mark, on the far end, had grabbed a pair of his favourite jogging pants. There were two bowls of popcorn, a bag of chips, and cookies ready to be eaten. It was the perfect movie night….. except Jack fell asleep 30 minutes into the second movie.

At first neither of us noticed, but after he hadn't responded when I asked him if he wanted another cookie, we realized he was out like a light. We considered carrying him to his bed, but thought it might be a bit weird, and we were much too lazy.

"Wait, did you guys hear anything?" the blonde haired character on the screen asked her group of friends.

I was on the third movie, Mark had fallen asleep somewhere near the end of number two and I was now watching a new horror movie.

The suspense was building as the characters stared into the pitch black ally ahead of them. The music ramped up going higher and higher in pitch. Something horrible was about to happen, a shape started to appear. It would happen any second now.

Something tapped me on the shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. A quick inspection revealed a completely normal living room, all the pictures were in place and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

 _Then what was this pressure on my shoulder?_

My heart rate started increasing… then I realized. Jack had simply shifted in his sleep so that his head was leaning against my shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?" I giggled as I thought about how stupid the situation was.

I settled back into the movie to see that one of the girls had been taken from the group and was given a puzzle. If she could complete in within the given time, then everything would be okay, if not, one of her friends died. The story was actually really interesting, but I was constantly being distracted. I didn't notice what it was from, until I happened to turn my head a certain way that ended up with me getting a whiff of the most delicious scent I've ever smelled.

 _Oh._

I knew I should pull away, keep my promise to Mark. I told him I wouldn't ever let anything happen, but it was just so intoxicating. I was locked in an internal battle, and I didn't even notice myself pulling closer to him, trying to get more of the mouth watering smell.

I felt myself slowly losing it, my eyes turned a bright silver and fangs starting to come out of where I desperately wished they would stay.

Jack shifted and made a small terrified sound. Everything snapped back to reality. My fangs retracted, and my eyes turned to their normal brown colour. I quickly scampered away from the couch as I realized just how close I was to doing something unthinkable. Thankfully, Jack was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the close call.

I ran outside, away from the house as far as I could get.

 _I'm a monster, how could I even think about hurting him. Why does his blood make me like this?_

I followed my plan I had made yesterday. I was going to sate my thirst, and keep it that way so I won't ever come close to hurting Jack again.


	4. Chapter 4: Mario Kart was a Bad Idea

**Chapter 4: Mario Kart was a Bad Idea**

 **Yay, another chapter! I actually really liked this one. We're finally getting into some action!**

I wandered the streets for hours feeling too guilty to take the walk of shame back to where my two very confused friends would be wondering where I was. I sat at the park I had been so carefree at just a week earlier, and mulled over whether or not to head back. I knew I would have to at some point, but maybe I could just wait until they leave.

 _No… Jack will probably too concerned. But maybe Mark would be able to take a hint and convince him to leave. Although he might be worried to…_

"Ugh!" I sat up, obviously irritated to anyone who might be watching. Sitting down was driving me insane, so I paced, walking in circles around the perimeter. I left my phone at home in my panic to _get out_ so I didn't even know what time it was. Though judging by the sun, it was probably past 7. Finally, I convinced myself to take short journey back, although it was the slowest I've ever walked in my life.

I opened the door as quietly as possible, managed to see it was 8:00 and almost made it to my room before…

"River! Oh my gosh, WHERE WERE YOU? You never said you were going anywhere, and you had already left when I woke up at 5! We didn't know what to think, you just disappeared!"

Jack was practically yelling at me, although... that's nothing new.

"Hey.. I'm fine just calm down. I just left to go for a walk."

"But why would you leave? You could have been hurt!"

"I just got stressed out and just needed to relax so ya. I'm fine."

"But it's dangerous! You should have done literally _anything_ else!

"I just… needed to get out. I'm fine though, really."

"Why didn't you leave a note or something, you didn't even take your phone! We couldn't get a hold of you!" the worry was still evident in his voice.

"I left without think too much about it."

He softened, "Okay... well if you ever need to talk about something, I'm here," He paused, "We could always go to therapy together."

"Oh no! It's nothing like that. It was just a one time thing, so don't get yourself all worried."

He eventually walked away accepting that I wasn't going to tell him anything else. I went to my room and changed from the clothes I had been wearing all night. Luckily, Jack hadn't noticed the small blood stain on the bottom. He probably would've thought I was cutting myself or something.

Not 15 minutes later, there was a cautious knock on my door.

"Yeah?"

The door opened slowly and Mark's floofy hair made an appearance as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

"You okay?"

"Yes Mark. I just went over this with Jack, I'm fine."

"Okay. He seemed to be really worried... you really just wanted to go for a walk?"

"No you idiot! I went out to get some food, duh. But I couldn't say that to him."

His face morphed from concerned to relaxed quickly as he realized his misunderstanding.

"Oh... wow... I'm stupid. Well, that's good. He really thought you had depression or something."

"I could tell."

The awkward silence penetrated the room.

"Sooooooo, what movie did you watch after I fell asleep?"

"Oh, it was some horror one, it was called You Can't Escape, I think…"

"I've seen that one! It was really good. What did you think about the twist at the end?!"

"Eh, I didn't finish it…"

"Why not..? Was it that boring?"

"No, it was actually really good! Just…" I debated whether I should tell him. On one hand I would just worry him more. On the other hand, maybe that worry was justified now, and I hated keeping secrets.

"Jack's blood was starting to bother me. So I just went away for a bit to clear my head and get some food."

"It's that bad that you can't even be near him?"

"No! It was just… his head fell onto my shoulder and it was the right angle, and-" I cut my rushed mess of a sentence off to think through my thoughts.

"I don't know. I'm confused, and worried. This has never happened before. I don't know what makes him special. I just have to be a little more careful. That's all."

He seemed concerned, "If you say so…."

The next week seemed to fly by. We got together to hang out with a couple of friends like Tyler and Ethan. Jack was super excited to see everyone again, and we had ample opportunity to get to know eachother better and become closer friends.

The next thing on our agenda was a birthday party for Ethan. Mark was planning it, and we were having a ton of people gathered at a nearby event center for fun, games, cake, and presents! Our house was buzzing getting all the arrangements ready until the day had finally arrived.

We got to the center early to put up the themed decorations and set up the games we planned. With the three of us together, it only took an hour for everything to be ready. We had a bit of time to relax, and my anxiety kicked in. I wasn't used to being around many people, so I was wary of the night ahead.

Over the next half an hour, people were trickling in, and in no time at all, we had a full house. Ethan arrived already in a party hat and the festivities begun. I sat by as people lined up to shoot at a row of cardboard targets shaped like peanuts in the mini game "Kill the Peanuts and Save Ethan." Mark and Jack were already in the action, but I knew I couldn't aim to save my life, so I sat out.

Next was a water balloon toss in honour of Ethans amazing fail in Mark's recent video. I wasn't going to miss that one, and was paired up with the birthday boy himself. We lasted almost longer than anyone else, but in the end I was the one who ended up covered in water multiple times, and lost the overall championship.

Multiple people came up to console me from my tragic defeat, including Jack. Unfortunately, with all the buzz of the party, I hadn't had food in a few days. I was starting to feel the effects of it will all the people around me. Apparently I wasn't doing the best job of hiding it because Katherine came up to me as the crowd dispersed to ask if I was okay. I tried to ease her worries without giving anything away, but I knew I should probably leave soon.

They started the next game, a Mario Kart tournament. I knew I had to stay for a little longer to show everyone here who's boss. I was up within 10 minutes and rocked the other players by a long shot and made it to the next round. Soon the group of spectators began to grow as the tournament progressed with only a few people left. It was just, Jack, Ethan, Me and another guy I didn't know left, and the final level was Rainbow Road. I was pumped; I knew an epic shortcut that could easily let me win.

I was sat down in between Ethan and Jack; we all had an hourerable handshake, and the race began. I started off in the lead, completing the first short cut without a problem. But, a lap in, more people crowded their way closer to the screen and I became more claustrophobic. It was already hard being shoved in a couch with 4 people, especially Jack, but the extra people amplified the problem even further. I started losing focus, and failed the same shortcut I pulled of easily the previous lap. The smell was so strong, and I suddenly felt unbearably hungry. It got harder to breath, I could barely even get through the track normally and I had plummeted down to last place. The smell was getting stronger, seeming to cover me like a blanket, I gave up on ever trying to get back in the race, and just do enough to keep up appearances. It was getter harder, it felt like everything was collapsing in on me, my eyes got wide with panic.

 _I can't lose control here, I just need to keep it together for a few more minutes, then I can leave. It's okay, just keep it together._

I was snapped out of my stupor by cheering. It was so loud, overwhelming my senses. I needed to leave. At this point I didn't even care if I looked like a bad sport. I just needed to _get. out_. I shoved past the crowd and tried my best not to sprint to the exit, longing for the fresh air.

Finally, I made it. I ducked into a dark corner around the building and practically collapsed from relief. I took big gulping breaths to clear the strong scent that still lingered in my mind. Slowly, my breathing returned to normal and my mind cleared to a point where I could take a look at my surroundings. I had staggered around the side and ended up on my knees with my back against a cold wall in an alley. I let my head fall back, hitting the hard surface with a small sound. I could hear the party going as planned through the well sound-proofed wall.

 _They'll be wondering where I went, but I don't know if I can go back in there._ It felt like I was wandering through dense fog as my brain tried to form coherent thoughts. Hearing that all was well inside, I decided to rest for now. My foggy thoughts wouldn't let me do anything else anyways.

Once a vampire goes into "feeding mode" it takes a while for it to go back to "normal person mode" and not want to eat everything with blood in sight. I was somewhere in the process of switching when I heard light footsteps walking in my direction. Instincts were screaming to attack mystery person, after all I needed blood, but I was rational enough to push those bubbling feelings down.

Turning the corner, Jack nearly missed me tucked into in the shadows, but a sliver of light was illuminating part of my jeans, giving me away.

"River? What are you doing out here?" he paused taking in the surroundings. "Why are you in an alley?"

I realized how bizarre this would look to him.

His steps were slow and cautious as he moved towards me, clearly confused by the situation.

Every step he took amplified his scent, I needed him to leave, I can't do this!

I started panicking heavily, I didn't have Mark as a fall back in the alley, I could easily get Jack's blood hidden away from view. I wouldn't be able to control myself for much longer. My head that was tucked between my legs jolted up at a hand on my shoulder. I could see that he was talking to me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. It was like I was being pushed inside myself while a monster was trying to take control.

He. Had. To. Leave.

Through my heavy breathing I managed to spit out words

"Jack, please. I - I can't anymore."

His mouth was moving more frantically, desperately trying to communicate with me. It only made the situation worse.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to get him the go away the best I could with my foggy mind and broken words.

"Leave me alone! You have to - to go away from me. I don't want to hurt you. Please. Please Jack. I can't stop it."

I never felt his presence leave me, although his hand came off my shoulder.

 _Why won't he listen?_

His blood. It felt like my entire world revolved around the life giving liquid running through his veins. It would be so easy, so simple, just to reach out and - no! I can't think like that, but… but why not? I was so hungry, and here was a perfect cure for my craving right in front of me. NO! I'm losing it.

"JACK PLEASE! GO AWAY!"

Jacks POV

River had suddenly disappeared from the party, and nobody seemed to know where she'd gone. Quickly, I walked out of the building to see if she had stepped out. I almost missed it, but a sliver of light was illuminating a figure curled up in an alley.

It was River

 _What would she be doing in an alley?_

She wasn't responding to my questions, but she knew I was here. She was staring right at me. I cautiously took a few steps forward, but River only seemed more distressed at my presence, head tucked between her knees, and her hands wrapped around herself bunched up in her sweater.

I got close enough to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but she only flinched away at the contact, and whipped her head up to look into my eyes. A soft whimper filled the air.

"Hey, it's okay. Nothing going to hurt you. You're okay. What happened? We can talk about it, I won't judge no matter what."

She didn't respond or make any sort of indication that she heard me.

"Jack please! I -I can't anymore!"

She started hyperventilating, as she closed her eyes and turned her head away from me.

I went from concerned to terrified for her. What was wrong? Why wouldn't she tell me?

"You can't what? I'll do anything, just name it. But please tell me what's going on here. I squeezed her shoulder, trying to get her to look at me. Heavy breathing was the only thing that filled the silence as I hoped for a response.

"River.. Please just tell -"

"Leave me alone! You have to - to get away from me!"

Her words came out sloppy, and she was stumbling over her sentences like a drunk. But the worst part was the desperation. Even through her broken sentences, it was clear how much she needed what she continued to beg me for.

I didn't understand. Why did she need me to leave, how would she hurt me?

She went silent for a moment, tensing up and curling her fingers harder into her clothing.

"JACK PLEASE! GO AWAY!"

I didn't understand, couldn't even begin to know why she was so upset about my presence, but the desperation in her now open eyes convinced me that she needed me away from her.

I walked out of the ally looking behind my shoulder at River tucked into the farthest corner in the shadows, and ran to go get Mark.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: I Should've Seen it Sooner

**Chapter 5: I Should've Seen It Sooner**

Mark's POV

I first realized something was amiss when Jack basically bolted through the crowded hall straight for me. I had been so busy I didn't even realized River had gone missing until Jack told me about the situation.

I knew immediately what must have happened.

"Please Mark. I need to know she's going to be okay."

"You saw how much she wanted you away from her. I don't understand, but it's probably for the best if you stay here. Besides, then you can keep the party going."

"But…." He paused reconsidering, "I guess. Just, let me know, okay?"

"Of course. I'll be back when I can."

I found River right where Jack had left her. Although she seemed to be in more of a dreamy state then the panicked mess that Jack described.

She was already prepared for me as I walked around the corner thanks to her keen hearing.

"Oh thank God." she murmured.

I knelt down beside her, "Are you going to be okay?"

She still had a slightly crazed look in her eye which glowed silver, so I knew she must still be very thirsty.

"I - I hope so. I can't go back there. I don't know if I could make it home or stop even if I did find someone... " She let out a pained groan. I could tell she was struggling, stopping to take a few breaths here and there, or shaking her head every so often to clear her thoughts. Just having me around was enough to keep her on the edge.

I knew a few rules when it came to dealing with her like this. One: have minimal contact and make sure no skin on skin. A hand on the shoulder can help to ground her, but a hug would be bad news. Two: Only use small sentences and talk slower. She's reverting to a primal state and therefore doesn't understand more complex words or ideas. Three: make sure to act non-threatening, ask before you do anything to or for her. She's extra jumpy and more likely to react in a violent way.

I carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll figure something out, I promise."

Honestly I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Maybe I could find someone gullible enough to bring here and then use the stun rod, a weapon that will put her to sleep for a time, to make sure she stops if necessary. It wasn't the best idea, but it wasn't the best situation either.

I was shocked back to the present as I felt cold lips brush against my wrist. River had leaned into my hand and was pressing her mouth, fangs exposed, against my pulse point.

Oh crap

"Please." she was still restraining herself, not willing to do anything without my consent. But I didn't know how long it would last.

I hesitated.

"Mark" she groaned again clearly in pain with one hand pushed against her throat trying to calm the burning that was inevitably plaguing her. Silver eyes locked against my chocolate ones in a silent plea.

I nodded.

Faster than I could blink a searing pain shot through my forearm. It wasn't the first time I'd been bitten by her, but that didn't make it any easier. The sensation of blood being pulled out from my body was strange and uncomfortable, and it only got worse as the blood had to travel from farther away as she took more and more.

I started to feel dizzy, the black spots in my vision threatening to take over. I had to stop her now.

As fast as my groggy body could move, I brought the wand already gripped right in my hand up to her exposes neck and twisted the bottom.

The result was instantaneous, River's entire body tensed for a split second before falling limp into my arms.

River's POV

My eyelids felt so heavy, my body felt like it had weights strapped onto them.

What happened?

Slowly, I forced myself out of the awkward position I was laying in. The first thing I noticed was Mark leaning against a dirty wall covered in graffiti across from me. He seemed to be in pain.

Why was he holding his wrist? Why does he seem so pale?

Oh.

Crap. Did I? How could I do that to him? Please tell me I didn't attack him. I caused him so much pain…. I'm a monster.

"River? Your awake."

"I'm so sorry." I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Hey, Don't worry about it." He put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "I allowed you to, and I wouldn't have if I didn't think there was a better way."

There was some relief that I had consent, but I knew he was just trying to cheer me up; he always does after something like this. I don't understand how he can treat me so nicely even when he sees me at my worst.

A warm hand lifted my chin up.

"Now don't get all depressed on me. I'm not letting you get into one of your moods like normal. I'm fine, you're fine, and everything went smoothly so there's nothing to feel bad about, okay." His look was stern in a way but also calming and warm.

"Okay… fine!"

He always has a way to make me smile.

"We should probably just head home." He chuckled as he point to the multiple bloods stains on both our shirts and my frazzled hair from running my hands through it one too many times.

Luckily Mark was able to hide anything obvious so he could let Jack know what was happening so he could run the party and find an alternative ride home.

Things went smoothly after that. We got home and cleaned up any evidence of the events that unfolded in the ally. We had time to spare until Jack got home so we made some tea and started to settle down for the night.

That was, until Jack and Ethan came barging into our quiet and peaceful sanctuary.

"OH MY GOSH, and that TOSS though!" Jack didn't realize how loud he was talking, a side effect from being in a loud place for to long, but my eardrums were not prepared for the green haired man.

"Right? It was so crazy. I can _not_ believe I pulled that off.

"Guys… you are unbelievably loud." Mark chimed into their conversation to try and bring the volume levels down.

"Oh shoot, sorry!" Ethan apologised.

We ended up spending a bit of time together to cap of the evening, luckily without many questions asked since Mark told them I was just claustrophobic.

Ethan ended up leaving at around 2 in the morning.

"Thanks so much for having me over!"

"Oh it was fun, thank you!" Jack smiled cheerfully

"I'll see you guys later, it was awesome seeing you again Sean!"

"You too! See ya!"

And door was pulled shut, leaving the three of us standing together, totally exhausted.

"Well, I'm am going to hit the bed. Running a party is tough work!" Jack said triumphantly as he walked up the stairs."

"Ya, I probably will too." Mark was about to walk away before I grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

"What? Is something wrong?"

"He called him Sean." I was confused, Jack was… well… Jack. Why would Ethan call his Sean?"

"Yeah… that's his real name. You didn't know that?" Mark seemed shocked that I wouldn't know that seemingly obvious piece of information. "His full, real name is Sean William Mcloughlin. How has that never come up?"

The colour drained from my face.

"What did you say?"

His eyebrows raised, "... Sean William Mcloughlin. Is that a problem."

 _This all makes sense now. I get it. It was so obvious. How did I not see it sooner?_

"Are you okay?"

I started back at Mark.

"I just need to check something."

"Okay… are you sure? Do you need anything?"

"It's fine." I was already walking to my room. I needed to make sure. I grabbed the key hidden under my bed, unlocked my bottom drawer, opened the false bottom, took out a box, and used a different key stored inside my closet to open it.

Any vampire would recognize ornate glass jar that held a small, blank, parchment of paper. One was given to every vampire a year after they were turned. The task was simple, press a drop of your blood onto the paper and a name will appear. The name of someone who's entire existence will be changed forever because of you. The name of the person you must turn.

I hadn't seen this piece of paper in years, there was no point. I had memorized the name that appeared years ago, but I had to be sure.

I used the needle also in the box to poke the tip of my finger, and pressed it against the middle of the paper.

This is it.

The blood started to spread, form shapes, turn into letters. I've never wanted to stare directly at something, but also look away so much at the same time.

The first letters formed

S-a- -i-a- M-l-g-l-n

 _No_

S-an Wi-l-am M-l-ug-lin

 _NO_

Sean William Mcloughlin

"NO!"

The door burst open. "River! There you are."

 _Wait, that isn't Mark's voice._

Issac, a friend of mine since grade 1, was in my room.

"How did you get here?"

"What do you mean? I walked over."

I looked around. This wasn't my room. Well it was, but only when I still lived at my parents house.

"Oh, do you need something?" I didn't want to see him again. It hurt to much. Why am I here?

"You said you would help me pick out a suit for grad remember?"

 _Oh, now I get it. Today is_ that _day._

"Oh right!" I put on a cheerful face. Why not go along with it? "We're gonna make you look so handsome!"

We went to several stores, looking for the perfect fit and colour. It a way, it was nice to see him smiling again, to relive happy memories with him, but I knew it would end all to soon.

"Do you wanna stop for a break? There's a Starbucks around the corner."

I knew what was coming, but I couldn't change to the outcome. "Sure, I could really go for a cool drink right now."

We got our beverages and sat down at a corner booth. Shortly after, a kid who seemed to be our age came over.

"Hey Isaac!"

"Oh, Cody! How you doin?" River, this is Cody. I met him a couple weeks ago at soccer."

"It's nice to meet you. Isaac talks about you all the time." Cody stuck out his hand.

That was the worst part, he looked like such a nice kid. His dirty blonde hair was neat, he had bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle, and his mouth curved into a genuine smile.

We sat and talked like any normal teenagers would do, and Cody tagged along with us back to Isaac's house. That's when everything went wrong.

We were playing Call of Duty when Isaac stepped out to use the bathroom. He was only gone for a few minutes, but that's all it took. Cody started getting closer to me. I was uncomfortable, but thought it was just an act of hormones. Then he put his face into my neck; I froze. When he pulled back again, his eyes were bright red. I didn't understand what was happening. He started acting like a completely different person. I was shoved and pinned against the wall, while a sharp pain tore into my neck. It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to try and defend myself.

I was weak, with black spots in my vision when Isaac came in. I don't think he had any idea what was actually happening, but he tried to defend me. Nothing gets in the way of a vampire and their food. Isaac tried to pull Cody away, when he didn't budge, he punched him hard across his face. That got his attention.

Cody turned around. Isaac was stunned, seeing his 'friend' with blood smeared against his face and in his mouth. Cody took that advantage and shoved Isaac to the ground, got on top of him and punched him, again, and again, and again.

There was more blood. Isaac stopped trying to block the attacks. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong, and I was barely awake. Isaac stopped moving. Cody didn't stop. Isaac's eyes went glassy. Cody came back to me. It didn't take long before my vision went black.

"River, River!" Hey, it's okay. What's wrong?"

My vision was fuzzy; I couldn't breathe. There was someone else in the room. What was that sound? Someone's hyperventilating? They must need help.

…..

Oh

That's me…. That's why I can't breathe… I guess that makes sense.

Wait, there's another person here. They're talking to me. They have a hand on my leg.

"River, slow your breathing. Five seconds in, okay? Follow me."

I could hear a slow breathing beside me. I tried to follow it as best as I could. My breathing slowed; I started to see clearer.

"Mark?"

"Are you doing any better?"

"I think - Yeah, I'm better. Thank you."

I was back in my room; my current room, sitting on the floor, the parchment in front of me, beside Mark who was on his knees with worry in his chocolate eyes. My face was wet, tears. My hands curled so tightly into fists that my skin was white and my nails were biting into my palms. Basically, I was a mess.

"What happened here?"

"It's… a long story."

"I have time."


End file.
